Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

A garment hanger comprises a frame of triangular form with inclined arms connected by a hanger bar. The frame is internally open and supports a flexed rod in the opening which is movable between a first position in which the rod is disengaged from the bar and permits unimpeded placement of a garment folded on the bar and a second position in which the bar can be manually pushed into engagement with the garment to clamp the same against the bar.

United States Patent Becca 115] 3,692,216 14 1 Sept. 19, 1972 GARMENT HANGER [72] Inventor: Dante Becca, Via 3, Empoli, Firenze, Italy [22] Filed: NOV. 12, 1970' 211 App]. No.2 88,573

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 12, 1969 Italy .Q48s6-A/6 9 s2 U.S. c1. 223/91 51 1111. c1. ..A47j 51/14 [58] FiCld 61 Search ..223/85, 93, 96, 90, 91

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,206,348 11/1916 MacPherson ..223/91 2,963,207 12/1960 Glowka 2 23/91 3,260,427 7/1966 Gingher ..223/91 2,886,224 5/1959 Boume ..223/91 2,340,320 1/1944 Goldbert ..223/91 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz 8L Nissen 7] ABSTRACT 1 A garment hanger comprises a frame of triangular form with inclined arms connected by a hanger bar. The frame is internally open and supports a flexed rod in the opening which is movable between a first position in which the rod is disengaged from the bar and permits unimpeded placement of a garment folded on the bar and a second position in which the bar can be manually pushed into engagement with the garment to clamp the same against the bar.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing figures GARMENT HANGER BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a gannent hanger and particularly to a hanger on which a garment can be clamped.

The widespread use of garment hangers for placing and storing garments in closets and for transporting them in special carriers had led to the creation of various types. In particular, in the fashion industry, in order to solve the problems connected with the transportation of garments, use is made of portable hangers which must be lightweight, easy to use, low in cost and of minimum overall size, besides, of course, ensuring the correct placement and storage of a garment hung in such a way that it is firmly supported and prevented from moving.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hanger which possesses all they requirements listed above while also being constructed to afford a structural and functional construction which promotes its use particularly as a hanger for transporting trousers. In fact, the hanger is provided with a locking means constituted in such a way as to form a permanent elastic lock which, under all circumstances, prevents longitudinal slipping or lateral sliding of trousers on the hanger, without causing any damage to the material.

According to the invention, the garment hanger comprises a frame including a portion on which a garment such as trousers can be foldably suspended, and a flexed rod supported in said frame for movement between a first position away from said portion to enable placement of the garment on said portion without interference, and a second position in which the flexed rod resiliently clamps the garment against said portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a hanger according to the invention showing a rod thereof separated from a frame thereof;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on enlarged scale taken on line 2-2 in FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3a and 3b diagrammatically show the hanger with the rod in inoperative and operative positions respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawing, the garment hanger comprises a rigid frame 1 of generally triangular shape, preferably made of plastic material and open internally. The frame is equipped with a central metal hook 2 rotatably housed in an appropriate tubular seat 3.

At the juncture between the inclined arms 7, 7' of the frame and the lower bar 8 thereof, there are two inwardly projecting protrusions 4, defining seats for receiving and supporting the ends of an elastic rod 6. For this purpose, the rod is equipped with two forktype ends which make insertion thereof between the two protrusions 4 and 5 extremely easy, despite the fact that the straight-line distance between the two seats is less than that of the rod itself. The rod 6, once mounted, is therefore subjected to axial compression which causes it to flex or bend, forcing it to assume either of the positions shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b. The shift of the rod from either position can be effected manually and is made easier by the presence of the forked ends. The arms 7, 7 of the hanger are inclined so as to allow the flexing of the rod 6, particularly in the I rest position, namely the position of non use, as shown in FIG. 3a. The cross-section of the rod 6 is shown in FIG. 2 as having two laterally spaced engaging portions for allowing contact, at least along part of its length, with the folded trousers inserted between the rod 6 and the bar 8 of the hanger, without leaving any imprints in the material or presenting a catch for possible long-hair fabric. The rod is recessed between the laterally spaced engaging portions in conformity with a domed shape upper surface of the bar 8. The cross-sectional shape of the bar 8 and the arms 7, 7f are directly indicated thereon in FIG. 1 and show generallya web construction with reinforcement flanges thereon.

The two laterally spaced engaging portions on bar 8 serve as a means to hold the garment on the bar and consistent with the above the cross-section of the rod 6 can be selected as a function of the type of fabric of the trousers to be supported. In particular, the side which is to contact the fabric may present a single or double edge, with sharp comers, or with rounded, knurled corners or comers equipped with small teeth in order to keep the trousers locked in position without, however, damaging them or presenting a catch or permanently creasing the material.

The use of the hanger is as follows:

The rod 6 is manually pushed to the raised position and is flexed thereat as shown in FIG. 3a. The trousers are introduced into the opening in frame 1 and rested in folded position on the bar 8. Then the rod 6 is manually pushed to its operative position as shown in FIG. 3b whereat the trousers are locked permanently between rod 6 and bar 8 without possibility of either slipping laterally, even if the hanger should be tilted, or v of sliding longitudinally, even if the trousers are pulled. The elastic clamping force exerted by the rod in the operative position is sufficient to keep the trousers locked in place, but is not so large to mar or leave imprints on the material.

In practice, the details of construction may vary as to shape, size, arrangement of the elements, composition of the materials used, without, however, departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Thus, for example, the rod 6 can be replaced by two arms of suitable length, each of which is joined at its base to the hanger in the region of the protrusions 4 and 5 and arranged parallel and at a short distance from the bar 8 such that there is still an elastic force applied by the arms on an inserted pair of trousers throughout their length although they do not completely cover the width of the trousers; the distance of such arms from the element 8 is determined as a function of the thickness of the trousers to be held.

What is claimed is:

l. A garment hanger comprising a frame including a portion on which a garment can be foldably suspended, and a flexed, resilient rod having opposite ends detachably supported in said frame for movement between a first position away from said portion to enable placement of the garment on said portion without interference, and a second position in which the flexed rod resiliently clamps a garment against said portion, said frame including inner protrusions defining seats for the ends of the rod, the protrusions being spaced at a distance from one another which is less than the length of the rod, said ends of the rod being of fork shape engaging the protrusions under pressure while 1 being separable therefrom.

2. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said protrusions are integral with said frame and are constituted as opposed webs with U-shaped indentations facing one another, said fork shaped ends of the rod engaging said webs at the U-shaped indentations foldably suspended, said frame being open within the arms and bar, said protrusions being located at the juncture between the bar and arms and integral therewith and extending inwardly into the open space in the frame.

4. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 3 wherein said rod has a surface facing said bar which includes means to hold the garment on said bar.

5. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 4 wherein said means on the rod to hold the garment on the bar comprises two laterally spaced engagement portions with a recessed surface therebetween.

6. A gannent hanger as claimed in claim 5 wherein said bar has a domed surface facing the recessed surface of the rod.

* l i It 

1. A garment hanger comprising a frame including a portion on which a garment can be foldably suspended, and a flexed, resilient rod having opposite ends detachably supported in said frame for movement between a first position away from said portion to enable placement of the garment on said portion without interference, and a second position in which the flexed rod resiliently clamps a garment against said portion, said frame including inner protrusions defining seats for the ends of the rod, the protrusions being spaced at a distance from one another which is less than the length of the rod, said ends of the rod being of fork shape engaging the protrusions under pressure while being separable therefrom.
 2. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said protrusions are integral with said frame and are constituted as opposed webs with U-shaped indentations facing one another, said fork shaped ends of the rod engaging said webs at the U-shapEd indentations and having flanks overlapping the webs.
 3. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frame is of generally triangular form with slanted lateral arms and a flat bar joining the arms and constituting said portion on which the garment can be foldably suspended, said frame being open within the arms and bar, said protrusions being located at the juncture between the bar and arms and integral therewith and extending inwardly into the open space in the frame.
 4. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 3 wherein said rod has a surface facing said bar which includes means to hold the garment on said bar.
 5. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 4 wherein said means on the rod to hold the garment on the bar comprises two laterally spaced engagement portions with a recessed surface therebetween.
 6. A garment hanger as claimed in claim 5 wherein said bar has a domed surface facing the recessed surface of the rod. 